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The Virtual Rocky Shore. Rick Stafford University of Gloucestershire. Experimental Design. A tool to allow simulation of real ecological experiments Avoids time constraints of real experiments Allows completion in a ‘practical’ session
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The Virtual Rocky Shore Rick Stafford University of Gloucestershire
Experimental Design • A tool to allow simulation of real ecological experiments • Avoids time constraints of real experiments • Allows completion in a ‘practical’ session • A website detailing the experimental process, from theory to publication • Including presentation of data, statistics and an introduction to rocky shore ecology
Why OER? • Solves (or addresses) a common problem in teaching ecology • Released under ‘derivatives allowed’ license • Customisable • Improvements can be made • Can be adapted to different situations with minimum effort • Ultimately ‘free’ resources are the future of digital technology (Open office, Linux, Web-based applications - Google office)
The future of OER • Two key issues • Funding • The extra time to create means this is unlikley to come from time allocated to teaching - unless changes are made by HEFCE • Recognition • Something along the lines of ‘peer review’ so it is easier to consider OERs as research output • Issues of ownership/IPR of resources are currently important, but these will change if the above points are addressed
Links • VRS • http://web.mac.com/richardstafford1/vrs • Breakdown of learning objects for ecology/evolution • http://web.mac.com/richardstafford1/vrs/LearningObjects.html • Example of 2h modification of VRS source code to create a capture mark recapture simulation • http://web.mac.com/richardstafford1/recapture/